In order to display the handle portion of a fishing rod or the rod itself, it is common practice to display the entire fishing rod in, for example, a case having a receptacle or notch for receiving the handle portion of the rod and a receptacle or notch for receiving some portion of the pole section of the rod. The rods are normally displayed side-byside and require a suitable amount of wall and/or floor space for the presentation of a significant number of styles and sizes of rods. Representative of such a display device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,004,673.
Another form of a display device employs a support means having numerous projections wherein the support means is secured to a wall or other upstanding structure. The projections receive the guide rings attached to the pole portion of the fishing rod to display the same. Thus, like the above display device, this display device displays the entire fishing rod. A sample display device of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,015.
With respect to displaying fishing reels, they are often exposed to more abuse than the fishing rods since the fishing reels are generally displayed unsecured in counter spaces or other unsuitable places where damage may easily result to their delicate components. Further, if the combination of a rod and reel is to be displayed, the entire fishing rod has to be displayed resulting in the disadvantages discussed above. Still further, when fishing reels are displayed in counter spaces, generally only visual inspection is available to the prospective buyer.
In order to overcome some of the difficulties associated with displaying fishing reels, U.S. Pat. No. 4,003,612 provides for a rack wherein fishing reels are mounted onto columns in a substantially vertical position. Unfortunately, the fishing reels have to be mounted on supports other than fishing rods and they must be completely removed from the supports to be physically inspected. Additionally, the rack disclosed therein cannot be easily adjusted to accommodate various displaying locations.
In brief, there are needs for display devices that can easily and expeditiously display fishing poles and fishing reels for physical and visual inspection by prospective buyers without experiencing the disadvantages described above.